Profile: A walk rate over six per nine is a hard thing to live with, even from a reliever. It is a bit easier when that reliever is striking out more than 13 per nine. That's what Al Alburquerque did in 2011. No, he probably isn't that good of a strikeout guy, but he probably isn't that bad when it comes to control, either. Alburquerque looked like a cheap source of strikeouts for fantasy owners going into 2012, but all those sliders that made him so hard to hit seem to have taken their toll, and he had elbow surgery. He will miss the first part of the season, at least, so don't draft him. But keep tabs on him if you need strikeouts from your relievers, as he might be available as the season wears on. (Matt Klaassen)

The Quick Opinion: Al Alburquerque exists. He is a strikeout machine, but had elbow surgery in the off-season and will miss at least the first part of 2012. Keep him in mind for a waiver pickup or a deep-league DL stash, but don't waste a pick on him. (Matt Klaassen)

Profile: As with every single Tiger reliever, the big question with Alburquerque, at least for fantasy purposes, is where he fits in the closer pecking order. Ostensibly Bruce Rondon is first in line, but he's a rookie and has had control issues coming up. Phil Coke is best against lefties. Alburquerque is a strikeout machine, with a career strikeout rate of 36.2% in 56.2 innings (would have been tied or sixth among relievers with 20+ IP in 2012). Of course his 15.1% walk rate would have ranked tenth worst, so there are some control issues, and he DIDN'T get to 20 IP last year, finishing with only 13.1. In 2013, I'd expect a lot of strikeouts, a lot of walks, not too many home runs (58.3% career ground-ball rate), a solid ERA and a manageable WHIP. He could be a sneaky player to roster to help your rates, build up some Ks, and -- if you are lucky -- vulture some saves should Rondon struggle. the problem is, he may be third (or fourth, or fifth) in line for saves in Detroit. (Chad Young)

The Quick Opinion: If you need saves, Alburquerque may not be all that useful. But if not, he'll provide strikeouts in bunches without hurting you anywhere else.

Profile: The ability to strike out a batter is essentially the most important tool a pitcher can have at his disposal, and with a career 34.1% K rate, Alburquerque has that ability in spades. But the ability to prevent walks may be the second-most important attribute for a pitcher to possess, and Alburquerque has not even remotely mastered that task. Among 160 qualified relievers over the past three seasons, only Carlos Marmol and Henry Rodriguez have posted worse walk rates than Alburquerque's 15.6% mark. That's a big deal for a team that has had a lot of small leads to protect over the past three seasons, and as a result, manager Jim Leyland was understandably skeptical of trusting Alburquerque in big situations. Still, when he has been trusted, he has performed pretty well, with 32 shutdowns against just 11 meltdowns on his resume. Of course, not much may change for the right-hander in 2014, as the Tigers imported Joe Nathan to close games, and Joba Chamberlain to serve at the back end of the 'pen. Alburquerque may end up just another cog in the machine, and as such probably isn't worth drafting unless the Tigers have a rash of pitching injuries during the spring. He is one to watch though, especially if he learns to cut his walk rate.

The Quick Opinion: Between Jim Leyland's wariness and Alburquerque's soreness, the San Pedro de Macoris native never has really flourished in Detroit. Hopefully with a new manager in place, that will change for him in 2014.

Profile: Occasionally, he'll be quirky. The biggest thing keeping Al Alburquerque from being an elite reliever the last few years was the walks. A free pass for you, a free pass for me... The fantastic news? The righty setup man decided he was tired of going all Carlos Marmol on the Tigers bullpen and slashed his 16% walk rate in 2013 to 9% in 2014. The not-so-hot news? Plummeting along with his walk rate was his elite strikeout numbers, plunging from 32% to 27%. The two drops were still a net positive on Alburquerque's bottom line, however, as his SIERA dropped under 3.00 for only the second time in his career. So what does this mean going forward? Well, his discipline stats are somewhat quixotic. His swinging strike rate only ticked down 1.5%, implying there's room to rebound in the strikeout department. On the other hand, his first pitch strike percentage was actually the lowest of his career (and his zone percentage was not that much better). Maybe the Al Alburquerque we saw last year wasn't materially that different after all. As in previous seasons, draft AlAl if you need whiffs out of a reliever lot, but the Tigers just don't seem that interested in letting him close. With Joe Nathan, Joakim Soria, and Joba Chamberlain still around to feed, I wouldn't go on a hunger strike waiting for him to see the ninth if I were you. (Colin Zarzycki)

The Quick Opinion: The reliever affectionately known as AlAl (partly because his name is too long for Twitter) saw offsetting decreases in his strikeout and walk rates in 2014, allowing a career high fraction of balls in play. Plate discipline metrics project both a bounce back in the punchouts and regression in free passes, so project him to what he has been -- a middle reliever with good strikeout rates who may ding you in WHIP a bit.

Profile: Al-Al looked like he might be Detroit's scrap heap gem in the bullpen. Lockdown relief has eluded the club pretty much throughout this cycle of winning that started back in 2006. Joel Zumaya was supposed to be their Francisco Rodriguez, but injuries snuffed out his career by age 26. They never seem to find that spring training invite who finds his arm slot, adds four ticks back to his fastball, and takes off as a late-inning stud. Alburquerque was supposed to be that guy, and early on, he was. His first 57 innings with the Tigers included a 1.59 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 36% strikeout rate, and 58% ground ball rate. The fly in the ointment was a common one for relievers: walks (16%). Fast forward three seasons and the walk rate is still an issue while the qualities he once owned have since waned. He hasn't seen a GB rate north of 48%, he had a fantastic 32% K rate in 2013, but has sliced a large chunk out of it in each of the last two season (down to 21% last year), and in the meantime, everyone realized Dellin Betances is a much cooler name than a misspelled version of Bugs Bunny's favorite city. (Paul Sporer)

The Quick Opinion: If you were creating a reliever on MLB: The Show, Alburquerque checks all the boxes: unique name, premium heat, devastating strikeout pitch, and a non-standard delivery. In the video game, you harness the greatness in those pitches, spell "Albuquerque" properly, and break Rivera's saves record; irl (as the kids say) you're 30, watching your strikeout and walk rates go completely the wrong way, and searching for a new team.